


A Hundred Miles to Home

by VJR22_6



Series: Mallard-McQuack Fam Fluff [3]
Category: Darkwing Duck (Cartoon 1991)
Genre: Family Fluff, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-14
Updated: 2019-09-14
Packaged: 2020-10-18 17:35:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20643035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VJR22_6/pseuds/VJR22_6
Summary: Drake's been gone two weeks now, but the mission is over. It's time he headed back home to his little girl and his love.





	A Hundred Miles to Home

**Author's Note:**

> Finally done! Only took me a month of writer's block XD I hope you guys like it! This will be the last in this set but I've got more Mallard-McQuack fluff ideas I plan on working out pretty soon. Thanks for reading! Love you!

Two weeks apart didn’t seem like that long when it was just dates on the calendar. Two weeks wasn’t that much time when he got on the plane the first time, after kissing Launchpad goodbye and sharing a hug with Gosalyn so tight neither of them could breathe. Two weeks didn’t even feel like it was so long when he called home every other night. But when their mission got into full swing, and they were spending every free minute catching crooks and cleaning up crime scenes?

Two weeks was an eternity.

He only feels a little bad about leaving the SHUSH work behind. They certainly could use a hand with the paperwork and whatnot that this string of busts is going to require. But Drake’s already missing his family more than he ever has before. He doesn’t want to spend one more minute away, not if he doesn’t absolutely have to.

The airport is busy as it can be, for so late in the day. Passers-by stare at Drake’s bandaged wrist and head, and he feels self-conscious, so he digs a light coat and a hat out of his bag before he checks it in. It’s hot and uncomfortable, but less eyes are on him, so it’s better. He’s done being attention-seeking hero Darkwing for right now. 

He boards the plane to St Canard as the sun sets, flying toward the orange streaks on the horizon. It’s a quiet, late flight, and soon the plane is dark. Most of the other passengers are resting, except, it seems, his fidgety neighbor. He presses himself against the window best he can, ignores the elbow that grazes his side every few minutes, and watches the grid of golden lights below them.

If this was the Thunderquack-which Drake really wishes it was-Launchpad would swoop low over the sparkling city. Gosalyn would stand between them, and giggle when LP turned too fast, and lean into Drake’s shoulder to keep upright as they headed for the clouds again. Drake would grip onto the arm of his seat, knuckles going white beneath his feathers.

And, as always, LP would reach over to reassure him. His partner would trace a heart on the back of his hand, and he’d relax, and they’d take a breath in sync. Gos would point to the ground, excited, and he’d focus on their little girl instead of being afraid of crashing.

The sight of a bustling city turns to rolling mountains, and he’s reminded of camping with Gos. She might dislike it, but he thinks of their outings with warm fondness. They’d take the little two-lane highway out of the suburbs, and the landscape would look like the dark one below. They’d fall asleep under a starry sky clear as this one, and… yeah, he can’t wait to get back to his family.

Fortunately, there’s only a few hundred miles left to home.

The flight isn’t that bad, really, he just wants to be done with this mission already. His neighbor gets comfortable and falls asleep, and is thankfully not a snorer. Drake just watches the stars and waits for Duckberg and St Canard to appear below them.

As soon as he lands, before he’s even on the way to collect his luggage, he calls Launchpad, who picks up on the first ring. “DW! Hey!”

“Hey, LP,” he replies, grateful at the sound of his favorite voice again. “I’m grabbing my bag and heading home.”

“Awesome! I can’t wait t’see ya again.”

“Me either,” he smiles to himself. “So, how-”

He hears a small crash in the background, and pauses. Something creaks, and then a whisper. “Aw, Gos….”

“She okay?” He asks, stepping onto an escalator. LP replies, “Yeah. Dropped one of her toys.”

“Trying to stay up for me, I bet.”

“Yeah,” he murmurs. “She misses you a lot. We both do.”

“I miss you guys too. But I’ll be home in twenty minutes. I know a couple of shortcuts.”

“Be careful, I don’t want you to crash,” Launchpad warns. “I’ll be in the front room waiting.”

“I know you will,” he feels a warmth returning to his chest that’s been gone since he left. Love. “I’ll see you soon.”

True to his word, it’s just over twenty minutes’ drive home, cutting through a few back roads. It’s after eleven when he returns, so little Gosalyn is supposed to have been asleep for a while. But it doesn’t surprise him when she comes barreling down the stairs. This is the longest they’ve been apart since her adoption, so no wonder it was hard on her.

He gives her a forehead kiss and a hug. He can tell she’s smiling, though her beak is buried against his chest, and smiles a little himself. Launchpad joins the embrace, one arm around each of them, and when they’re all together, Drake feels truly home.

He carries Gos up to bed after a few minutes, and tucks her in. She’s obviously exhausted, but just as obviously desperate to be close to him. He unties her hair, setting the bands on the bedside table. He brushes her hair from her eyes, and she sighs in contentment, too tired for words. He starts singing, soft as he can, and she settles into her pillows after only the first verse. He sits on the edge of her bed for a while, watching his little redhead rest.

When she’s awake, her usual spirit is visible in every part of who she is. The way she holds her chin up, the sparkle in her eyes, her firmly planted feet as she holds her ground. Asleep, that’s gone, and she’s just Drake’s little girl. There’s something wonderful about seeing her like this, he muses. Something beautiful in the way she rests, purely peaceful and happy.

Tomorrow, they’ll spend the day together. If the weather’s nice, Launchpad will drive them down to the park and she’ll beat them at whatever game they choose to play. It won’t be them letting their little girl win, either; she’ll win by sheer determination to do so. On the other hand, if a storm blows in, they’ll get out the board games. Gos will pick the chair between them, as she always does, and will stand on it for half the game so she can see the other side of the board.

Either way, he’ll hold Launchpad’s hand and steal a kiss or two. At the end of the day, he’ll make them dinner and they’ll eat together, and listen to their baby girl talk. It doesn’t matter what about, she always has something to say. He’ll ruffle Gos’s hair and she’ll grin up at him like he’s the stars in her sky, not the other way around.

And it will be perfect, just like home always is.


End file.
